JP2008162710A - Sheet conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet conveying device capable of making a paper feeding roller abut on a desired sheet tray without mounting or dismounting the sheet tray when feeding a sheet material from each of a plurality of sheet trays by using one paper feeding roller. <P>SOLUTION: A paper feeding cassette 7 is provided with a manually operated tray 13 at an upper step and a paper feeding tray 12 at a lower step. In the manually operated tray 13, a first slide plate 71 and a second slide plate 72 are slidably supported on a front end side and a rear end side with respect to a tray body 70, respectively. The paper feeding roller 25 is supported to a driving shaft 29 at the upper side of the paper feeding cassette 7 to swing. The paper feeding roller 25 is abutted on the paper feeding tray 12 while the first slide plate 71 is stored in the tray body 70. When the second slide plate 72 is pulled out, the first slide plate 71 is pushed out forward and the paper feeding roller 25 is lifted to the upper face side of the first slide plate 71 in an interlocking relationship with an operation for pulling it out. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet conveying apparatus that conveys a sheet member from a plurality of sheet trays.

  An image recording apparatus such as a printer is equipped with a sheet conveying apparatus. The sheet conveying apparatus includes a sheet tray and a sheet feeding roller. A plurality of recording sheets (sheet members) are stacked on the sheet tray. When the paper feeding roller is driven to rotate in contact with the recording paper placed on the sheet tray, the recording paper is separated one by one by the contact friction between the roller surface of the paper feeding roller and the recording paper, and the conveying direction Sent to.

  As an example of a conventional sheet conveying apparatus, Patent Document 1 discloses a sheet feeding apparatus in which a sheet conveying table (corresponding to a sheet tray) is arranged in a lower stage and a manual sheet feeding table (corresponding to a sheet tray) is arranged in an upper stage. It is disclosed. This paper feeding device employs a paper feeding roller whose rotating shaft is supported at a fixed position. In the paper feeding device, the recording paper placed on the paper transporting base is normally in contact with the paper feeding roller. When the recording paper is transported from the manual paper feed table, the manual paper feed table is moved so that the recording paper placed thereon is brought into contact with the paper feed roller. Thus, the recording paper placed on each of the two sheet trays is fed by one paper feed roller.

JP-A-9-150977 JP-A-2005-314067

  By the way, Patent Document 2 discloses a paper feed roller supported swingably by an arm member above a sheet tray. When recording paper is fed from each of the sheet trays arranged in two upper and lower stages using such a paper feed roller, the following complicated work is required. That is, in the sheet conveying apparatus, for example, when the sheet feeding roller is brought into contact with the upper tray from the state in which the sheet feeding roller is brought into contact with the recording paper in the lower tray, only the respective sheet tray or the upper tray is temporarily removed from the apparatus. After removing and changing the position and posture of the upper tray and attached parts, it was necessary to mount the sheet tray on the apparatus again. When the sheet tray is reattached to the apparatus, the arm member is pressed at the tip of the sheet tray, and the paper feed roller rides on the upper tray.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the purpose thereof is to feed a sheet material from each of a plurality of sheet trays using a feed roller supported so as to be swingable. An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet conveying apparatus capable of bringing a sheet feeding roller into contact with a desired sheet tray without requiring attachment or detachment of the sheet tray.

  (1) The present invention provides a sheet placing portion in which a first tray and a second tray on which a sheet member is placed are arranged in two upper and lower stages on the apparatus main body with the first tray on the upper side, and the sheet placement described above. And a rotating body that is supported so as to be able to swing in a direction in which it is moved toward and away from the placing portion. The first tray is provided on the upstream side in the transport direction from the rotating body, and is provided to be slidable with respect to the tray body, and the sheet member placed on the first tray is connected to the rotating body. A first plate member whose posture is changed to a first posture in which the sheet member placed on the second tray and a second posture in which the sheet member placed on the second tray can be fed by the rotating body, and the first plate member And an operating member that changes the posture between the first posture and the second posture.

  In the sheet conveying apparatus of the present invention, when the user operates the operation member, the posture of the first plate member is changed between the first posture and the second posture. When the first plate member is in the second posture, the rotating body descends below the first tray, and the peripheral surface of the rotating body comes into contact with the sheet member placed on the second tray. On the other hand, when the first plate member is changed from the second posture to the first posture, the rotating body is pressed downstream in the transport direction by the tip of the first plate member. At this time, the rotating body is swung by receiving the pressing force from the first plate member, and is lifted away from the second tray. When the first plate member is in the first posture, the rotating body rides on the first tray. That is, when the first plate member is changed to the first posture, the rotating body comes into contact with the sheet member placed on the first tray.

  Due to such a configuration, the contact position of the rotating body can be easily switched to either the first tray or the second tray without the operation of removing the sheet placement unit from the apparatus main body. In addition, since the sheet placement surface of the first tray is expanded downstream in the transport direction in accordance with the switching, a larger-size sheet member can be placed on the first tray.

  (2) The operation member is slidably provided with respect to the tray main body, and is accommodated in the third posture drawn out from the upstream end of the tray main body in the transport direction and the tray main body side. A second plate member whose posture is changed to the fourth posture. The operation member has an interlocking mechanism that changes the posture of the first plate member in conjunction with the change in posture of the second plate member.

  Thereby, the said operation member is concretely implement | achieved with a simple mechanism.

  (3) The interlocking mechanism changes the first plate member from the second posture to the first posture in conjunction with the second plate member being changed from the fourth posture to the third posture. It is something to be made.

  Accordingly, the sheet placement surface of the first tray is expanded not only on the downstream side in the transport direction but also on the upstream side in the transport direction.

  (4) The interlock mechanism includes a pinion gear that is rotatably provided on the tray body, and a rack gear that is meshed with the pinion gear and is provided on each of the first plate member and the second plate member. .

  With this configuration, the interlocking mechanism can be realized with a simple mechanism.

  (5) The second plate member has a handle at the end on the upstream side in the transport direction.

  Thereby, the slide operation of the second plate member can be easily performed.

  (6) The sheet placing portion is disposed in a state where at least the downstream side in the transport direction from the tray body is accommodated in the apparatus body.

  The present invention is suitable for the sheet conveying apparatus configured as described above.

  (7) The sheet conveying apparatus further includes an arm member that is swingably supported by the apparatus main body. In this case, the rotating body is rotatably supported at the tip of the arm member.

  (8) The first posture further includes a support member that supports an end portion of the first plate member on the downstream side in the transport direction.

  Thereby, the conveyance direction front-end | tip of the 1st board member changed to the 1st attitude | position is supported by a support member, Therefore The bending of the 1st board member by the dead weight of a sheet | seat member or a rotary body is eliminated.

  (9) The support member is provided on a projecting piece provided at an end of the first plate member on the downstream side in the transport direction, and on an extension line on the downstream side in the transport direction of the first plate member. It is preferable to have a wall member in which an insertion port to be inserted is formed.

  Thereby, the support member is realized with a simple mechanism.

  (10) A detection unit that detects the posture of the first plate member, and a tray in which the sheet member is in a state in which the sheet member can be fed by the rotating body in the sheet placement unit based on the detection result of the detection unit It is desirable to further include a first determination unit.

  By determining the tray that is in a feedable state by the first determination unit, it is possible to appropriately execute various processes according to the sheet member placed on the determined tray. The degree of freedom is improved.

  (11) The detection unit detects the first posture and the second posture. In this case, the first determination unit determines that the first tray is a feedable tray when the detection unit detects the first posture, and the detection unit detects the second posture. The second tray is determined as a tray that can be fed.

  (12) The sheet conveying apparatus cannot feed paper from both the first tray and the second tray on the condition that neither the first posture nor the second posture is detected by the detection unit. A first output unit that outputs error information indicating that may be provided.

  (13) Further, a receiving unit that receives an external signal for designating either the first tray or the second tray, a tray that is determined to be fed by the first determination unit, and the external signal A second determination unit that determines whether the designated tray matches or is different, and a second output unit that outputs error information indicating that the second determination unit is determined to be different by the second determination unit Is preferably further provided.

  Thereby, for example, a user who has transmitted the external signal from an information processing apparatus connected to the sheet conveying apparatus can obtain error information. For this reason, it is possible to prevent a sheet member having a size or paper quality contrary to the intention of the user from being erroneously conveyed.

  According to this sheet conveying apparatus, when the first plate member is in the second posture, the rotating body descends to the second tray side, and the circumferential surface of the rotating body comes into contact with the sheet member placed on the second tray. On the other hand, when the first plate member is changed from the second posture to the first posture, the rotating body rides on the first tray. Thereby, the contact position of the rotating body can be easily switched to either the first tray or the second tray without the operation of removing the sheet placement unit from the apparatus main body. In addition, since the sheet placement surface of the first tray is expanded downstream in the transport direction with the switching, a larger size sheet member can be placed on the first tray.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. The embodiment described below is merely an example of the present invention, and it is needless to say that the embodiment of the present invention can be changed as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present invention.

<< First Embodiment >>
First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of a multifunction machine 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The multi-function device 1 is a multi-function device (MFD: Multi Function Device) that integrally includes a printer unit 2 and a scanner unit 3, and has a printer function, a scanner function, a copy function, and a facsimile function.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction machine 1 has a wide and thin, generally rectangular parallelepiped outer shape having a width and depth larger than the height. The upper part of the multifunction device 1 is a scanner unit 3. The scanner unit 3 is configured as a so-called flat bed scanner. As shown in the figure, a document cover 5 is provided as a top plate of the multifunction machine 1 so as to be freely opened and closed. A platen glass and an image sensor (not shown) are provided inside the main body below the document cover 5. The image of the document placed on the platen glass is read by the image sensor. In realizing the present invention, since the scanner unit 3 has an arbitrary configuration, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The lower part of the multifunction machine 1 is a printer unit 2. The printer unit 2 records an image or a document on a recording sheet based on the image data read by the scanner unit 3 or externally input print data. The printer unit 2 is equipped with a paper feeding device 6 (see FIG. 2, an example of a sheet conveying device of the present invention) having a paper feeding cassette 7 (an example of a sheet placement unit of the present invention). The recording paper stored in the paper feed cassette 7 is fed into the printer unit 2 by the paper feed device 6. The printer unit 2 is provided with an image recording unit 24 (see FIG. 2) that performs image recording. The image recording unit 24 records a desired image on the recording paper conveyed by the paper feeding device 6. The recording paper on which image recording has been performed is discharged to the front side of the apparatus.

  An operation panel 4 is provided on the upper front portion of the multifunction machine 1. The operation panel 4 includes a liquid crystal display unit 15 and an operation unit 16 such as a push button switch. The printer unit 2 and the scanner unit 3 are operated based on an instruction signal input from the operation unit 16 or an instruction signal transmitted from a computer via a printer driver or a scanner driver. The liquid crystal display unit 15 displays status information such as various error information and operation modes. These pieces of information are displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 15 when the liquid crystal driver controls the arrangement and orientation of the liquid crystal molecules based on the signal transmitted from the main control unit of the multifunction device 1.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the printer unit 2 and the sheet feeding device 6 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the internal configuration of the printer unit 2 of the multifunction machine 1. In FIG. 2, the scanner unit 3 is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a paper feeding device 6 is mounted on the printer unit 2. The paper feeding device 6 includes a paper feeding cassette 7 and a paper feeding mechanism 33 roughly.

  An opening 10 is formed in the front of the printer unit 2. Inside the opening 10, a paper feed cassette 7 is disposed. Specifically, the entire sheet cassette 7 is accommodated in the opening 10. The paper feed cassette 7 is configured to be disposed on the bottom side of the multifunction machine 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the paper feed cassette 7 includes a paper feed tray 12 (an example of the second tray of the present invention) and a manual feed tray 13 (an example of the first tray of the present invention) that are vertically arranged. The arrangement structure is stacked in a shape. The configuration of the paper feed cassette 7 will be described in detail later.

  The paper feed mechanism 33 includes the paper feed roller 25 (an example of a rotating body of the present invention), a drive transmission mechanism 30, and a swing arm 27 (an example of an arm member of the present invention) that supports them. Yes. As shown in FIG. 2, a drive shaft 29 is provided above the paper feed tray 12 in the width direction of the apparatus. The drive shaft 29 is rotatably supported by the main body frame of the multifunction machine 1. A motor (not shown) is connected to one end of the drive shaft 29. When the motor is rotationally driven, a rotational driving force (rotational torque) in a predetermined direction is transmitted to the drive shaft 29.

  The swing arm 27 is supported so as to be swingable about the drive shaft 29. The swing arm 27 extends from the drive shaft 29 to the downstream side in the transport direction (left side in FIG. 2). A paper feed roller 25 is rotatably supported at the tip of the swing arm 27. Specifically, a rotary shaft 26 is rotatably supported at the tip of the swing arm 27, and a paper feed roller 25 is fixed to the rotary shaft 26. Therefore, the paper feed roller 25 is supported on the upper side of the paper feed cassette 7 so as to come into contact with or separate from the recording paper stored in the paper feed cassette 7. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the roller surface of the paper feed roller 25 is in contact with the upper surface of the paper feed tray 12. Of course, when a recording sheet is placed on the sheet feeding tray 12, the roller surface of the sheet feeding roller 25 contacts the upper surface of the recording sheet.

  The rotational driving force input to the drive shaft 29 is transmitted to the paper feed roller 25 via the drive transmission mechanism 30. In the first embodiment, when the rotational driving force is transmitted from the motor, the paper feed roller 25 is rotated clockwise in FIG. When the rotational driving force is transmitted to the paper feed roller 25 with the paper feed roller 25 in contact with the recording paper, a frictional force is generated between the roller surface of the paper feed roller 25 and the recording paper. This frictional force is applied to the recording paper. As a result, the recording paper is fed to the paper conveyance path 23 on the downstream side in the conveyance direction. In the present embodiment, a mechanism including a gear train provided between the drive shaft 29 and the paper feed roller 25 is employed as the drive transmission mechanism 30. Of course, instead of the drive transmission mechanism 30, a mechanism constituted by an endless belt, a pulley, or the like may be employed.

  The swing arm 27 is provided with a guide plate 34 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) extending in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. The guide plate 34 is supported so as to be swingable about the drive shaft 29. The guide plate 34 is connected to the swing arm 27. Therefore, when the rotational driving force is input to the drive shaft 29 and the swing arm 27 is swung, the guide plate 34 is swung in the same operating range as the swing arm 27.

  The swing arm 27 is rotated around the drive shaft 29 (fulcrum) by the weight of the swing arm 27 itself and the weight of the paper feed roller 25 and the drive transmission mechanism 30. Then, the swing arm 27 stops at a position where the surface of the paper feed roller 25 contacts the recording paper in the paper feed cassette 7. As shown in FIG. 2, the swing arm 27 is inclined obliquely downward toward the downstream side in the transport direction with the paper feed roller 25 in contact with the recording paper of the paper feed tray 12.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the printer unit 2 is formed with a paper transport path 23 through which recording paper is transported. This sheet conveyance path 23 is directed upward from the downstream end of the sheet feeding cassette 7 in the conveyance direction (hereinafter referred to as “front end”), that is, in a direction to bend toward the side where the sheet feeding roller 25 is disposed. It is extended. Specifically, the sheet conveyance path 23 is directed upward from the front end of the sheet feeding cassette 7 along the rear surface of the apparatus, and then passes through the curved portion 17 formed in a curved shape to the front side of the apparatus (the right side in FIG. 2). And through the image recording unit 24 to the opening 10 at the front of the apparatus. Accordingly, the recording paper fed from the paper feed cassette 7 to the paper transport path 23 by the paper feed roller 12 is guided by the paper transport path 23 so as to make a U-turn from the lower side to the upper side, and reaches the image recording unit 24. After image recording is performed by the recording unit 24, the image is discharged to the opening 10.

  The sheet conveyance path 23 is configured by an outer guide surface and an inner guide surface that are opposed to each other at a predetermined interval, except for a portion where the image recording unit 24 and the like are disposed. For example, the curved portion 17 of the sheet conveyance path 23 on the back side of the multifunction machine 1 is configured by fixing an outer guide member 18 and an inner guide member 19 to the apparatus frame. When the recording paper is conveyed to the bending portion 17, the recording paper is bent into a curved shape along the bending portion 17.

  An image recording unit 24 is provided in a portion of the paper conveyance path 23 that extends from the end of the bending portion 17 to the downstream side in the conveyance direction. The image recording unit 24 includes a carriage 38. The carriage 38 is equipped with an ink jet recording head 39. Guide rails 43 and 44 are extended in the main scanning direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 2) perpendicular to the recording sheet conveyance direction. The carriage 38 is supported on the guide rails 43 and 44 so as to be able to reciprocate in the main scanning direction. The ink jet recording head 39 is supplied with ink of each color through an ink tube 41 from an ink cartridge (not shown) disposed in the multifunction device 1. While the carriage 38 is reciprocated, each color ink is selectively ejected from the ink jet recording head 39 as minute ink droplets. As a result, an image is recorded on the recording paper conveyed on the platen 42.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of transport rollers 46 and a pinch roller are provided on the upstream side of the image recording unit 24 in the transport direction. Since this pinch roller is hidden by other members, it does not appear in FIG. The pinch roller is disposed below the transport roller 46 and in pressure contact with the transport roller 46. The transport roller 46 and the pinch roller sandwich the recording paper transported through the paper transport path 23 and transport it onto the platen 42. A pair of paper discharge rollers 48 and a spur roller 49 are provided on the downstream side in the transport direction of the image recording unit 24. The paper discharge roller 48 and the spur roller 49 convey the recorded recording paper to the opening 10 while pinching it. The conveyance roller 46 and the paper discharge roller 48 are intermittently driven with a predetermined line feed width corresponding to various recording modes, when a rotational driving force is transmitted from a motor (not shown).

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the paper feed cassette 7 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 9. FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are perspective views showing the external configuration of the paper feed cassette 7. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the paper feed roller 25 is in contact with the upper surface of the paper feed tray 12, and FIG. 4 shows a state in which the paper feed roller 25 is in contact with the upper surface of the manual feed tray 13. It is shown. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the manual feed tray 13. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the manual feed tray 13. FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a main part of the tray main body 70. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along section line VIII-VIII in FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the section line IX-IX in FIG. 3 and 4 and FIGS. 8 and 9 show the paper feed mechanism 33 for convenience of explanation.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the paper feed cassette 7 includes a paper feed tray 12 and a manual feed tray 13. A manual feed tray 13 is disposed in the upper stage of the paper feed tray 12. In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the paper feed cassette 7 is mounted on the apparatus main body, and the paper feed roller 25 is in contact with the upper surface of the paper feed tray 12 as shown in FIG. When the operator performs a predetermined operation on the manual feed tray 13, the paper feed roller 25 is pushed up to the upper surface of the manual feed tray 13 together with the swing arm 27 as shown in FIG. 4. When the operation opposite to the predetermined operation is performed, the paper feeding roller 25 is lowered to the upper surface of the paper feeding tray 12 together with the swing arm 27, and the original state shown in FIG. The state is returned to the state in contact with the upper surface of the paper feed tray 12. Hereinafter, the configuration of the paper feed tray 12 and the manual feed tray 13 will be described in detail.

  Each of the paper feed tray 12 and the manual feed tray 13 is formed in a rectangular shape that is long in the transport direction in which the recording paper is transported from the paper feed cassette 7 (the direction indicated by the arrow 59; the same applies hereinafter). Recording sheets are accommodated in a stack in each of the paper feed tray 12 and the manual feed tray 13. In the first embodiment, the paper feed tray 12 is formed deeper than the manual feed tray 13. Therefore, the paper feed tray 12 can store more recording paper than the manual feed tray 13. The paper feed tray 12 can accommodate recording paper of A4 size or less, for example, recording paper of various sizes such as A4 size, B5 size, postcard size, and photo L size. On the other hand, as will be described later, it is possible to place recording paper of A4 size or larger, for example, legal size or A3 size, on the manual feed tray 13 by enlarging the recording paper placement surface. is there.

  An inclined plate 54 (an example of a wall member of the present invention) is provided at the front end of the paper feed tray 12. The inclined plate 54 is formed of a plate-like member that is long in the width direction (the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction indicated by the arrow 59, the same applies hereinafter). The inclined plate 54 is formed to have substantially the same width as the width of the paper feed tray 12. The inclined plate 54 is inclined to the back side of the apparatus. Therefore, when the front end of the recording sheet comes into contact with the inclined plate 54, the front end is guided obliquely upward along the inner surface 55 of the inclined plate 54. In other words, the inner surface 55 serves as a guide surface for guiding the recording sheet to the sheet conveyance path 23.

  A separating member 57 is provided on the inner side surface 55 of the inclined plate 54. The separation member 57 is disposed at the center in the longitudinal direction of the inclined plate 54 on the inner side surface 55. The separating member 57 is formed by arranging a plurality of teeth protruding from the inner side surface 55 in the inclined direction of the inclined plate 54. If a plurality of recording sheets are fed in a stacked state and the front end of the sheet bundle comes into contact with the inner surface 55, the front end of the sheet bundle is rolled by the separating member 57. At that time, the teeth of the separating member 57 enter between the recording sheets and a gap is formed between the recording sheets. As a result, the recording paper is easily separated, and the force applied to the recording paper from the paper feed roller 25 during feeding and the contact friction of the recording paper are combined, so that only the uppermost recording paper is lower. Securely separated from the recording paper.

  Two rotating rollers 56 are rotatably provided on the inner surface 55. The rotating rollers 56 are arranged in the width direction (longitudinal direction) of the inclined plate 54 so as to sandwich the separating member 57. The rotary roller 56 is provided such that its roller surface is exposed from the inner surface 55. The rotating roller 56 reduces the conveyance friction applied to the recording paper.

  The inclined plate 54 is formed with two cutouts 51 (an example of an insertion port according to the present invention) deeply cut from the upper end thereof. These notches 51 are respectively provided on the outer side in the width direction from the rotary roller 56. A protruding piece 104 described later is inserted into the notch 51. Thereby, the front end 113 of the first slide plate 71 of the manual feed tray 13 is supported by the bottom of the notch 51. The support member of the present invention is constituted by the notch 51 and the inclined plate 54 on which the protruding piece 104 is formed.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the manual feed tray 13 mainly includes a tray main body 70, a first slide plate 71 (an example of the first plate member of the present invention), and a second slide plate 72 (the present invention). An example of the second plate member). The manual feed tray 13 has a three-layer structure in which a first slide plate 71 is disposed below the tray body 70 and a second slide plate 72 is disposed above the tray body 70. The first slide plate 71 and the second slide plate 72 are configured to be slidable with respect to the tray body 70. By sliding the first slide plate 71 and the second slide plate 72 with respect to the tray body 70, the paper support surface of the manual feed tray 13 is enlarged or reduced.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the tray body 70 is provided on the upstream side in the transport direction from the paper feed mechanism 33, specifically, on the upstream side in the transport direction from the paper feed roller 25. The tray body 70 is detachably supported by the paper feed tray 12. The tray body 70 includes a flat base 75, a pair of arms 76, and a gear unit 78. As shown in the figure, the arm 76 is composed of an elongated plate-like member. The arms 76 are provided at both ends (both ends) of the base body 75 in the width direction. Specifically, the arm 76 is attached so as to be perpendicular to the base body 75 and the longitudinal direction thereof is along both side ends of the base body 75. As shown in FIG. 6, the arm 76 extends from the vicinity of the center of both side ends of the base body 75 to the front end, and further protrudes from the front end to the downstream side in the transport direction (downwardly diagonally downward in FIG. 6).

  The gear unit 78 is provided on the base body 75. The gear unit 78 has a shaft 81 and two pinion gears 80. A plurality of teeth (not shown) that can mesh with a rack gear 98 and a rack gear 111, which will be described later, are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the pinion gear 80. The pinion gear 80 is meshed with a rack gear 98 and a rack gear 111, which will be described later, thereby configuring the interlocking mechanism of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the pinion gear 80 is formed with a shaft hole 83 that penetrates the center of the pinion gear 80. The pinion gear 80 is fixed to the shaft 81 by fitting the shaft 81 into the shaft hole 83. The arm 76 is formed with a through hole 84 that bears the bearing of the shaft 81. The shaft 81 has substantially the same dimension as the dimension from the outer surface of one arm 76 to the outer surface of the other arm 76. An axial end of the shaft 81 is inserted through the through hole 84. Accordingly, the shaft 81 is rotatably supported by the arm 76 together with the pinion gear 80.

  The base body 75 is formed with a punching hole 86 punched from the upper surface to the lower surface. In a state where the shaft 81 is supported by the arm 76, the substantially lower half of the pinion gear 80 is immersed in the punching hole 86. As a result, the upper half of the pinion gear 80 is exposed on the upper surface of the base body 75, and the lower half is exposed on the lower surface of the base body 75.

  Parallel ribs 90 and parallel ribs 91 are provided on the inner side surface 77 of each arm 76 on the upstream side in the conveying direction (hereinafter referred to as “rear end”). The parallel rib 90 is disposed on the front end side of the parallel rib 91. Each of the parallel rib 90 and the parallel rib 91 is configured by two ribs that protrude perpendicularly from the inner side surface 77, are parallel to the base body 75 and the arm 75, and are arranged on the same line. A guide groove 88 is formed by the two ribs of the parallel rib 90, and a guide groove 89 is formed by the two ribs of the parallel rib 91. The groove width and the groove depth of the guide groove 88 and the guide groove 89 are formed in the same dimension. A rail 97 provided on the second slide plate 72 is inserted into each of the guide groove 88 and the guide groove 89. The rail 97 will be described later.

  Three support ribs 92 are provided on the inner side surface 77 on the front end side of each arm 76. These support ribs 92 protrude perpendicularly from the inner side surface 77 and are arranged so as to be parallel to the base body 75 and the arm 75. Further, these support ribs 92 are arranged in a staggered manner in the transport direction. The side end of the first slide plate 71 is inserted into the gap 94 (see FIG. 6) formed by these support ribs 92.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a second slide plate 72 is provided on the upper side of the tray body 70. The second slide plate 72 is provided with a pair of side guides 93. The side guide 93 is provided on the upper surface of the second slide plate 72 so as to be slidable in the width direction. The side guide 93 regulates the position in the width direction of the recording paper placed on the second slide plate 72. Specifically, the position in the width direction of the recording sheet placed on the second slide plate 72 is made to substantially coincide with a predetermined reference position (the center in the width direction of the second slide plate 72 in this embodiment). It is something to regulate. The pair of side guides 93 are configured to be interlocked by a mechanism using a rack gear and a pinion gear. Therefore, when either one of the two side guides 93 is slid, the other slides in the opposite direction in conjunction with the other. Each figure shows a state in which the side guide 93 is disposed near the side end of the second slide plate 72.

  A support plate 95 is provided on the side guide 93. The support plate 95 is formed integrally with the side guide 93. The support plate 95 protrudes from the upper end of the side guide 93 toward the center side of the second slide plate 72 and has a bowl-like shape parallel to the upper surface of the second slide plate 72. The recording paper discharged to the front side of the apparatus by the paper discharge roller 48 (see FIG. 2) is supported by the support plate 95.

  Rails 97 to be inserted into the guide grooves 88 and the guide grooves 89 of the tray body 12 are provided on both side ends of the second slide plate 72. The rail 97 is formed from the vicinity of the center of the side end of the second slide plate 72 to the front end of the second slide plate 72. By inserting the rail 97 into the guide groove 88 and the guide groove 89, the side end of the second slide plate 72 is supported by the arm 76 of the tray body 70. Thus, the second slide plate 72 is supported so as to be slidable with respect to the tray body 70.

  A knob 100 (an example of a handle of the present invention) is provided at the rear end of the second slide plate 72. The knob 100 is provided at the center in the width direction at the rear end of the second slide plate 72. The knob 100 is formed integrally with the second slide plate 72. When the operator grips the knob 100 and applies a force in the transport direction with the second slide plate 72 supported by the tray body 70, the second slide plate 72 is slid in the slide direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a rack gear 98 is provided on the lower surface of the second slide plate 72. The rack gear 98 is formed integrally with the second slide plate 72. Two rack gears 98 are provided corresponding to the two pinion gears 80 and separated in the width direction of the second slide plate 70. The shape and pitch of the teeth of the rack gear 98 are formed so as to be able to mesh with the pinion gear 80. As shown in FIG. 6, the rack gear 98 is provided in the vicinity of both side ends of the second slide plate 72. More specifically, the rack gear 98 is formed slightly on the center side of the rail 97 so as to correspond to the position of the pinion gear 80. The rack gear 98 is formed to have substantially the same length as the rail 97. When the second slide plate 72 is attached to the tray main body 70, the rack gear 98 is engaged with the pinion gear 80.

  Thus, when the second slide plate 72 is slid relative to the tray body 70, the linear motion of the second slide plate 72 is changed to a rotational motion that rotates the pinion gear 80 by the rack gear 98. That is, the operator can rotate the pinion gear 80 by sliding the second slide plate 72.

  Further, the lower surface of the second slide plate 72 is supported by the pinion gear 80, and the slide movement of the second slide plate 70 is restricted by the rack gear 98. Note that the length of the rack gear 98 is determined by the slide movement range of the second slide plate 72. 3 and 8, the second slide plate 72 is slidably moved to the downstream side in the transport direction with respect to the tray body 70, that is, the second slide plate 72 is accommodated in the tray body 70. The posture (corresponding to the fourth posture of the present invention) is shown. 4 and 9 show the posture in which the second slide plate 72 is pulled out to the maximum extent in the transport direction from the tray body 70, in other words, the posture in which the paper support surface of the manual feed tray 13 is enlarged ( This corresponds to the third posture of the present invention).

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a first slide plate 71 is provided below the tray body 70. The first slide plate 71 is generally composed of a single rectangular plate. Both side ends of the first slide plate 71 are inserted into a gap 94 formed by the support rib 92. As a result, the first slide plate 71 is slidably supported by the tray body 70.

  As shown in FIGS. 6, 8, and 9, two rack gears 111 are provided on the upper surface of the first slide plate 71. The rack gear 111 is formed integrally with the first slide plate 71. The shape and pitch of the teeth of the rack gear 111 are formed so as to be able to mesh with the pinion gear 80. As shown in FIG. 6, the rack gear 111 is formed in the vicinity of both side ends of the first slide plate 71 along the conveyance direction so as to correspond to the position of the pinion gear 80. Therefore, when the first slide plate 71 is attached to the tray main body 70, the rack gear 111 is engaged with the pinion gear 80.

  Thus, when the second ride plate 72 is slid with respect to the tray body 70, a force for sliding the first slide plate 71 is applied to the rack gear 111 via the rack gear 98 and the pinion gear 80. That is, when the operator slides the second slide plate 72, the pinion gear 80 is rotated, the rotational force is transmitted to the rack gear 111, and the first slide plate 71 is slid. The length of the rack gear 111 is an element determined by the slide movement range of the first slide plate 71, but is substantially the same length as the rack gear 98. Here, FIGS. 3 and 8 show a posture (corresponding to the second posture of the present invention) in which the first slide plate 71 is slid to the maximum extent in the transport direction with respect to the tray body 70. Yes. 4 and 9 show a posture (corresponding to the first posture of the present invention) in which the first slide plate 71 is pulled out to the maximum extent from the tray main body 70 to the downstream side in the transport direction.

  As shown in FIG. 6, two protruding pieces 104 are provided at the front end 113 of the first slide plate 71. The protruding piece 104 is formed at a position corresponding to the two notches 51 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) formed in the inclined plate 54. Specifically, it is formed at a position where the extended line extending from the front end 113 of the first slide plate 71 to the downstream side in the transport direction and the inclined plate 54 intersect. Accordingly, when the first slide plate 71 is pushed out from the tray body 70 toward the downstream side in the transport direction and the front end 113 thereof contacts the inclined plate 54, the protruding piece 104 is inserted into the notch 51. Thereby, the front end 113 is supported by the inclined plate 54.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the first slide plate 71 is provided with a protrusion 106 and a protrusion 107 that protrude vertically from the upper surface. The protrusion 106 and the protrusion 107 have a mountain shape in a sectional view, and have an inclined surface 108 extending from the top to the upper surface of the first slide plate 71. The protrusion 106 is provided on the side end 116 side of the first slide plate 71, and the protrusion 107 is provided on the side end 117 side. When the first slide plate 71 is pushed out from the tray main body 70, the protrusion 106 comes into contact with the guide plate 34 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) and pushes up the swing arm 27 together with the guide plate 34. Further, the protrusion 106 and the protrusion 107 serve to rotate the detector 155 and the detector 165 of the first sensor 150 and the second sensor 160 described in the second embodiment. The operation of the protrusions 106 and 107 will be described in the second embodiment.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, two rotary rollers 109 are rotatably provided on the upper surface of the first slide plate 71. The rotary rollers 109 are arranged in the width direction near the center of the first slide plate 71 on the front end 113 side. The rotating roller 109 is provided such that its roller surface is exposed from the upper surface of the first slide plate 71. Thereby, the conveyance resistance of the recording paper on the upper surface of the first slide plate 71 is reduced.

  Hereinafter, a change in the state of the paper feed cassette 7 due to the sliding movement of the second slide plate 72 in the paper feed device 6 and its operation will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, in a state where the paper feed roller 25 is in contact with the upper surface of the paper feed tray 12, the operator operates the knob 100 to move the second slide plate 72 upstream in the transport direction. When pulled out, the force that pushes the first slide plate 71 to the downstream side in the conveying direction is applied to the first slide plate 71 via the rack gear 98, the pinion gear 80, and the rack gear 111 sequentially. At this time, when the second slide plate 72 is pulled out from the fourth posture (see FIGS. 3 and 8) to the third posture (see FIGS. 4 and 9), the first slide plate 71 is moved to the second posture (FIG. 3). And from FIG. 8) to the first posture (see FIGS. 4 and 9). In other words, the posture of the first slide plate 71 is changed in conjunction with the posture change of the second slide plate 72.

  In the process of changing the posture of the first slide plate 71 from the second posture to the first posture, the inclined surface 108 of the protrusion 106 enters so as to sink under the guide plate 34 (see FIGS. 3 and 4). When the first slide plate 71 is further pushed out, the guide plate 34 is pushed up so as to rise up the inclined surface 108. Along with this, the swing arm 27 is also pushed upward. Thereafter, the vicinity of the center of the front end 113 of the first slide plate 71 is brought into contact with the front end side of the swing arm 27, and the paper feed roller 25 is lifted to the upper surface of the first slide plate 71. As a result, the recording paper placed on the manual feed tray 13 can be fed by the paper feed roller 25.

  When the first slide plate 71 is pushed out to the first posture, the tip 113 is brought into contact with the inclined plate 54. At this time, the protruding piece 104 is inserted into the notch 51, and the front end 113 is supported by the inclined plate 54.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 9, the operator picks the paper feed roller 25 in a state where it is in contact with the upper surface of the manual feed tray 13, specifically, the upper surface of the first slide plate 71 of the manual feed tray 13. When the second slide plate 72 is slid to the downstream side in the conveying direction by operating 100, and the second slide plate 72 is accommodated in the tray body 70, the rack gear 98, the pinion gear 80, and the rack gear 111 are sequentially passed through the first slide plate 72. A force that pulls back the first slide plate 71 to the upstream side in the transport direction acts on the first slide plate 71. At this time, when the second slide plate 72 is pushed back from the third posture (see FIGS. 4 and 9) to the fourth posture (see FIGS. 3 and 8), the first slide plate 71 is moved to the first posture (FIG. 4). And from FIG. 9) to the second posture (see FIGS. 3 and 8).

  When the first slide plate 71 is pulled back from the first posture to the second posture, a gap is formed between the inclined plate 54 and the tip 113. This gap is enlarged as the first slide plate 71 is pulled back. At that time, first, the paper feed roller 25 falls from the upper surface of the first slide plate 71 into the gap, and then falls in the order of the swing arm 27 and the guide plate 34. When the first slide plate 71 is completely changed to the second posture, the original state shown in FIG. 3, that is, the state in which the paper feed roller 25 is in contact with the upper surface of the paper feed tray 12 is returned. As a result, the recording paper placed on the paper feed tray 12 can be fed by the paper feed roller 25.

  As described above, according to the paper feed cassette 7 according to the first embodiment, the paper feed roller 25 can be simply extracted by pulling out the second slide plate 72 while the paper feed cassette 7 is mounted on the multifunction machine 1. Can be lifted to the manual feed tray 13 so that the recording paper in the manual feed tray 13 can be conveyed. Further, as the second slide plate 72 is pulled out, the paper support surface of the manual feed tray 13 is enlarged, which is suitable for feeding recording paper having a size larger than that of the paper feed tray 12. Further, the operability of the paper feed cassette 7 is improved because the paper feed roller 25 can be lifted and the paper support surface can be enlarged by a series of operations.

  In the first embodiment described above, by operating the second slide plate 72, the first slide plate 71 is changed in posture between the first posture and the second posture. A configuration other than the second slide plate 72 may be employed as the operation unit to be changed. For example, an operation member that does not have a function of placing a recording sheet such as the second slide plate 72 may be used.

  In the first embodiment described above, a mechanism constituted by the rack gears 98 and 111 and the pinion gear 80 is adopted as an example of the interlocking mechanism. An operation lever that changes the posture between the first posture and the second posture may be adopted.

<< Second Embodiment >>
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 16. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the control unit 200 of the sheet feeding device 6. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the paper feed cassette 7 and shows a state in which the paper feed roller 25 is in contact with the upper surface of the paper feed tray 12. FIG. 12 is a partially enlarged view of a main part XII of FIG. FIG. 13 is a partially enlarged view of a main part XIII of FIG. FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the paper feed cassette 7 and shows a state in which the paper feed roller 25 is in contact with the upper surface of the manual feed tray 13. FIG. 15 is a partially enlarged view of a main part XV in FIG. FIG. 16 is a partially enlarged view of a main part XVI of FIG. In the second embodiment, the control unit 200 will be described as being independent of the main control unit that controls the MFP 1 in an integrated manner. However, the control unit 200 constitutes a part of the main control unit. It does not matter. Moreover, since control of a motor etc. is implement | achieved using the conventionally well-known drive circuit (motor driver), description here is abbreviate | omitted. In addition, about the component which is common in the above-mentioned 1st Embodiment, the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted by showing the same code | symbol as the code | symbol used in 1st Embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the control unit 200 mainly includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 202, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 203, and an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable ROM) 204. It is configured as a microcomputer. The control unit 200 configured in this way corresponds to the first determination unit, the second determination unit, the first output unit, and the second output unit of the present invention.

  The ROM 202 stores a program for controlling various operations of the multifunction machine 1 and table data (see Table 1) referred to during various processes. The RAM 203 is used as a storage area or work area for temporarily recording various data used when the CPU 201 executes the program. The EEPROM 204 stores settings, flags, and the like that should be retained even after the power is turned off.

  The bus 205 is connected to a first sensor 150 and a second sensor 160 (both are examples of the detection unit of the present invention). Each of the first sensor 150 and the second sensor 160 detects the attitude of the first slide plate 71. Details will be described later. A sensor signal (detection signal) indicating the attitude of the first slide plate 71 is output from the first sensor 150 and the second sensor 160 to the control unit 200. The sensor signal input to the control unit 200 via the bus 205 is read by the CPU 201, and the signal state is temporarily stored in the RAM 203 as status information. The CPU 201 determines the operating state of the sheet feeding device 6 through a processing procedure according to a program based on the signal state stored in the RAM 203. In the second embodiment, based on the sensor signals output from the first sensor 150 and the second sensor 160, whether or not the recording paper is ready for feeding, more specifically, the paper feed tray 12 and the manual feed The CPU 201 determines which of the trays 13 is in a state in which recording paper can be fed. This determination result is temporarily stored in the RAM 203. Details of the determination method will be described later.

  Connected to the bus 205 is a network interface card (NIC) 208 (an example of a receiving unit of the present invention) for communicating with a network to which a terminal such as a personal computer is connected. A typical example of the NIC 208 is a LAN adapter for connecting to a LAN. The print command output from the terminal is input from the NIC 208 to the control unit 200 via the network. In addition to print data such as image data and document data, the print command includes, for example, tray designation information (corresponding to an external signal of the present invention) for designating a tray in which recording paper to be printed is stored. Yes. The control unit 200 that has received the print command determines whether the tray that is determined to be fed by the CPU 201 matches the tray indicated by the tray designation information, and the determination result is stored in the RAM 203. Memorize temporarily.

  The liquid crystal display unit 15 is connected to the bus 205. The CPU 201 reads the determination result stored in the RAM 203 and outputs information corresponding to the determination result to the liquid crystal display unit 15 or an external terminal. The output information includes, for example, information indicating a tray capable of feeding recording paper, information indicating the presence or absence of a tray capable of feeding, error information indicating that feeding is not possible, a designated tray, and the like. There is error information indicating that the trays that can be fed do not match. In the liquid crystal display unit 15, the arrangement and orientation of liquid crystal molecules are controlled based on the information output from the CPU 201, and character information, warning display information, and the like corresponding to the information are output to the liquid crystal screen. Output to an external terminal is performed via the NIC 208.

  As shown in FIGS. 11 to 16, in the second embodiment, the first sensor 150 and the second sensor 160 are provided in the paper feeding device 6. The first sensor 150 detects whether the first slide plate 71 is in the second posture, and the second sensor 160 detects whether the first slide plate 71 is in the first posture. is there.

  The first sensor 150 includes a photo interrupter 151 and a rotating member 152. The photo interrupter 151 and the rotating member 152 are both attached to the frame of the paper feeding device 6 or the like. 11 to 16, only the photo interrupter 151 and the rotating member 152 are shown, and these attaching means are omitted.

  The rotating member 152 includes a detector 155 and a shielding part 154 provided on the shaft 153. The detector 155 and the shielding part 154 are provided coaxially with the shaft 153. The first sensor 150 detects a change in posture of the detector 155 that rotates according to the posture of the first slide plate 71 as a HI signal / LOW signal of the photo interrupter 151. Specifically, the rotating member 152 and the photo interrupter 151 are positioned so that the shield 154 appears and disappears in the detection area 156 of the photo interrupter 151 as the detector 155 rotates. The second sensor 160 is configured in the same manner as the first sensor 150, and detailed description thereof is omitted. However, a photo interrupter 161 and a rotating member 162 provided with a detector 165 and a shield 164 on the shaft 163 are provided. Have. The HI signal means a signal whose level of an electric signal (voltage signal, current signal) output from the photo interrupter 151 is higher than a predetermined threshold, and the LOW signal is a signal whose electric signal is lower than the predetermined threshold. Means.

  The first sensor 150 is a rotating member such that when the first slide plate 71 is in the second posture (see FIG. 11), the tip of the detector 155 contacts the top of the protrusion 106 as shown in FIG. 152 is disposed. At this time, the shielding part 154 is immersed in the detection area 156 of the photo interrupter 151. In this state, the photo interrupter 151 outputs a sensor signal (LOW signal) indicating that the first slide plate 71 is in the second posture to the control unit 200. On the other hand, when the first slide plate 71 is changed from the first posture to a posture other than the second posture, the detector 155 is rotated so that the tip thereof contacts the upper surface of the first slide plate 71. At this time, the shielding part 154 is also rotated, and the shielding part 154 is withdrawn from the detection area 156 as shown in FIG. In this state, the photo interrupter 151 outputs a sensor signal (HI signal) indicating that the first slide plate 71 is in a posture other than the second posture to the control unit 200.

  When the first slide plate 71 is in the first posture (see FIG. 14), the second sensor 160 is a rotating member such that the tip of the detector 165 contacts the top of the protrusion 107 as shown in FIG. 162 is disposed. At this time, the shielding part 164 has left the detection area 166 of the photo interrupter 161. In this state, the photo interrupter 161 outputs a sensor signal (HI signal) indicating that the first slide plate 71 is in the first posture to the control unit 200. On the other hand, when the first slide plate 71 is changed from the first posture to a posture other than the first posture, the detector 165 is rotated so that the tip thereof contacts the upper surface of the first slide plate 71. At this time, the shielding part 164 is also rotated, and the shielding part 164 is immersed in the detection region 166 as shown in FIG. In this state, the photo interrupter 161 outputs a sensor signal (LOW signal) indicating that the first slide plate 71 is in a posture other than the first posture to the control unit 200.

  Table 1 summarizes the correspondence between the posture of the first slide plate 71 and the output signals of the first sensor 150 and the second sensor 160. The correspondence shown in Table 1 is stored in the ROM 202 as table data. In Table 1, postures other than the first posture and the second posture are described as intermediate postures.

  The control unit 200 makes various determinations based on the table data shown in Table 1. Specifically, when the LOW signal is output from both the first sensor 150 and the second sensor 160, the first slide plate 71 is in the second posture, and thus the CPU 201 is in a state where feeding is possible. The tray is determined as the paper feed tray 12. In addition, when the HI signal is output from both the first sensor 150 and the second sensor 160, the first slide plate 71 is in the first posture, so the CPU 201 removes the tray that is ready for feeding. The manual feed tray 13 is determined. At this time, the determination result and the tray designation information are compared by the CPU 201, and the coincidence between the tray determined to be fed and the tray indicated by the tray designation information is determined. If it is determined that there is a mismatch, the printing process is temporarily suspended, and error information indicating the mismatch is output to the liquid crystal display unit 15 and the external terminal. Of course, if it is determined that they match, the printing process is continued.

  On the other hand, when the HI signal is output from the first sensor 150 and the LOW signal is output from the second sensor 160, the first slide plate 71 is in a posture (intermediate posture) other than the first posture and the second posture. . In this case, the paper feed tray 12 and the manual feed tray 13 are not ready for feeding. Therefore, the CPU 201 determines that both the paper feed tray 12 and the manual feed tray 13, that is, the paper feed cassette 7 is in a state in which it cannot be fed. At this time, the CPU 201 outputs error information indicating that the paper feed cassette 7 cannot be fed to the liquid crystal display unit 15.

  In this way, since the tray that is in a feedable state is determined based on the sensor signals of the first sensor 150 and the second sensor 160, control using the determination result can be constructed, and the control design The degree of freedom increases. By outputting to the liquid crystal display unit 15 a tray that is ready to be fed, the user can be notified of the state of the paper feeding device 6.

  Various information such as error information indicating that the paper cassette 7 cannot be fed or that the designated tray does not match the tray that can feed paper is output to the liquid crystal display unit 15 and the external terminal. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a recording sheet having a size or quality contrary to the intention of the user from being erroneously conveyed.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of a multifunction machine 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the internal configuration of the printer unit 2 of the multifunction machine 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the paper feed cassette 7, and shows a state in which the paper feed roller 25 is in contact with the upper surface of the paper feed tray 12. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the paper feed cassette 7 and shows a state in which the paper feed roller 25 is in contact with the upper surface of the manual feed tray 13. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the manual feed tray 13. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the manual feed tray 13. FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a main part of the tray main body 70. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along section line VIII-VIII in FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the section line IX-IX in FIG. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the control unit 200 of the sheet feeding device 6. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the paper feed cassette 7 and shows a state in which the paper feed roller 25 is in contact with the upper surface of the paper feed tray 12. FIG. 12 is a partially enlarged view of a main part XII of FIG. FIG. 13 is a partially enlarged view of a main part XIII of FIG. FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the paper feed cassette 7 and shows a state where the paper feed roller 25 is in contact with the upper surface of the manual feed tray 13. FIG. 15 is a partially enlarged view of a main part XV in FIG. FIG. 16 is a partially enlarged view of a main part XVI of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Multifunction machine 6 ... Paper feeding device (sheet conveyance device)
7: Paper feed cassette (sheet placement section)
12: Paper feed tray (second tray)
13 ... Bypass tray (first tray)
15 ... Liquid crystal display 25 ... Paper feed roller (rotating body)
26 ... Rotating shaft 27 ... Swing arm (arm member)
51 ... Notch (insertion slot)
54 ... Inclined plate (wall member)
70 ... Tray body 71 ... First slide plate (first plate member)
72 ... second slide plate (operation member, second plate member)
80 ... pinion gear 98 ... rack gear 111 ... rack gear 200 ... control unit 208 ... NIC (reception unit)

Claims (13)

A first tray and a second tray on which the sheet member is placed, the sheet placing portion disposed in the upper and lower two stages on the apparatus main body with the first tray on the upper side;
A rotating body supported so as to be swingable in the direction of contacting and separating from the sheet placement section,
The first tray is
A tray body disposed on the upstream side in the transport direction from the rotating body;
A first posture that is slidable with respect to the tray main body and is capable of feeding the sheet member placed on the first tray by the rotating body and the sheet member placed on the second tray is rotated. A first plate member whose posture is changed to a second posture that can be fed by the body;
A sheet conveying apparatus comprising: an operation member that changes the posture of the first plate member between the first posture and the second posture. The operating member is
It is provided to be slidable with respect to the tray main body, and has a third posture drawn from the end of the tray main body in the transport direction upstream to the transport direction upstream, and a fourth posture accommodated in the tray main body. A second plate member whose posture is changed;
The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an interlocking mechanism that changes the posture of the first plate member in conjunction with a change in posture of the second plate member. The above interlocking mechanism is
The seat according to claim 2, wherein the first plate member is changed from the second posture to the first posture in conjunction with the second plate member being changed from the fourth posture to the third posture. Conveying device. The above interlocking mechanism
A pinion gear rotatably provided on the tray body;
4. The sheet conveying device according to claim 2, further comprising a rack gear meshed with the pinion gear and provided on each of the first plate member and the second plate member. 5.   5. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second plate member has a handle at an upstream end in a conveying direction.   The sheet conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the sheet placing portion is disposed in a state in which at least a downstream side in the conveying direction is accommodated in the apparatus main body from the tray main body. An arm member supported in a swingable manner;
The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotating body is rotatably supported at a tip end of the arm member.   The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a support member that supports an end portion of the first plate member on the downstream side in the conveying direction in the first posture. The support member is
A protruding piece provided at an end of the first plate member on the downstream side in the conveying direction;
The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising: a wall member provided on an extension line on the downstream side in the conveying direction of the first plate member and having an insertion port into which the protruding piece is inserted. A detection unit for detecting the posture of the first plate member;
10. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a first determination unit that determines a tray in which the sheet member can be fed by the rotating body in the sheet placement unit based on a detection result of the detection unit. The sheet conveying apparatus according to 1. The detection unit detects the first posture and the second posture,
The first determination unit determines that the first tray is a tray that can be fed when the detection unit detects the first posture, and the second determination unit detects the second posture when the detection unit detects the second posture. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the tray is determined as a tray that can be fed.   Error information indicating that paper feeding from both the first tray and the second tray is impossible is performed on condition that neither the first posture nor the second posture is detected by the detection unit. The sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising one output unit. A receiving unit for receiving an external signal for designating either the first tray or the second tray;
A second determination unit that determines whether the tray that is determined to be fed by the first determination unit and the tray that is specified by the external signal match or are different;
The sheet conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 12, further comprising a second output unit that outputs error information indicating the condition on the condition that it is determined that the second determination unit is different.

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